Read Online Damage by Robin Stevenson - Free Book Online Page B

like it could get much worse,” I said.
    â€œNo kidding.” Joelle leaned toward me. “Zach’s out cold. You want to put him down on my bed?”
    I nodded, stood up with him in my arms and carried him into her room. Joelle pushed the covers to one side and I put Zach down in the middle of her bed, with pillows on both sides so he wouldn’t roll off. His eyelashes were dark spiky lines against his flushed cheeks. He looked perfect. Everything was still possible for him, I thought, if only the adults in his life didn’t screw it all up.
    â€œHe’s pretty sweet,” Joelle said.
    â€œYeah. Especially when he’s sleeping.” I followed Joelle back out to the living room, still thinking about what she had said. “So if Max shows up, we just give Zach to him?”
    â€œYeah, I guess. I mean, Ronnie’s not here, is she? And I can’t look after her kid. Besides, Max has custody. Did Ronnie tell you that?”
    â€œNo. Max did though.”
    â€œI couldn’t have ratted on Ronnie to him, but honestly, Theo, this is probably a good thing. He’s a lot more stable than she is. I mean, she’s a good mom in lots of ways, and she adores Zach, but if she keeps coming apart like this, how can she take care of a kid?”
    â€œYeah. I get it.”
    She yawned. “I’m sorry, but I’ve got to crash. I’m going to join Zach, okay? Wake me up if...well, if Ronnie shows up, I guess.”
    â€œOkay.” I wasn’t sure what to hope for. I couldn’t imagine just handing Zach over to his dad without even talking to Ronnie, but on the other hand, how was I going to tell her what I had done?
    I flopped back into the armchair and closed my eyes. My whole body ached with tiredness. I’d slept last night, but not well, and I’d been up driving right through the night before. Still, it wasn’t the lack of sleep that was making me feel like I’d been hit by a truck. It was Ronnie.
    How could I be so crazy about her and so angry with her at the same time? And how could she be so perfect and such a mess? I found myself remembering what she’d said as we drove into LA, something about polluted cities having the best sunrises. She was kind of like this city, in a way. So much glamour and gorgeousness, yet, underneath it, so much desperation.
    I should call my parents, I thought tiredly. Let them know I wouldn’t be getting on the bus this morning. They’d argue, but I wasn’t too worried about that. My problems with my parents felt so distant from the mess I was dealing with here—and so trivial compared to what Ronnie had run away from. When I got home, things would be different. Darrell was right—I couldn’t change them, so I’d just have to learn not to take it all so personally. The way forward didn’t seem half as complicated as the miles behind us. After all, there were worse things than having your parents worry about you.
    I yawned so widely that my jaw cracked. In a minute, I’d call. In a minute...

Chapter Thirteen
    I must have dozed off, because the next thing I knew, the living-room door slammed and then Ronnie was standing in front of me, her dark hair wild and uncombed, her mascara smudged under her eyes. “Where’s Zach? Is he okay?”
    I struggled to get up. “Fine. He’s asleep in Joelle’s room.” I caught her arm. “Don’t go in there. Joelle’s sleeping too. Besides, we need to talk.”
    â€œI know.” A tear traced a pale path through her ruined makeup. “I’m so sorry, Theo. I’m really, really sorry. I didn’t mean to be gone so long. Honestly, I was only going to take a little break. But...”
    â€œBut then you started drinking.” If I’d had any doubts, they were gone now. I could hear the slur in her speech. I could smell the booze and the cigarettes on her breath.
    â€œI’m sorry.” She